See the Person Not the Role

I was lucky enough to go to a 40th party at the weekend with some of my former colleagues - none of them were executives, most of them were in credit control or customer service. Many of them have hidden talents and I was struck by the awesome talent that lie within. Here are some examples

One woman has a beautiful voice and is a born entertainer, she has just applied to go on Stars in their Eyes...do you think the company knows?
One person was made redundant after 20 years of being a shipping clerk, now she runs a mirror company....do you think at her previous job this management talent was seen?
One guy has been a musician, plays the guitar brilliantly and is a computer whizkid....do you think the company knows?
One woman is an aerobics teacher in her spare time, organizing classes/training etc....do you think the company knows?
One person has a burning ambition to run her own events company and is planning to do it soon....do you think the company knows?

The answer is that the company does not know because they do not ask, do not listen, do not see past the tag of the job title. No doubt they believe these people have reached their potential - what a waste! These loyal, talented people have been or will be lost just from leaders not encouraging development and seeing the person not the role.